THE COUNTRY | MANIZALES *
14 municipalities of Caldas are getting ready this year-end to hold a new day of high-quality specialty coffee contests in their regions.
This time 8 municipalities enter, including Belalcázar, Villamaría, La Merced, Marulanda, Palestina, Samaná, San José and Neira, where their first meetings are being prepared to recognize coffee growers who, with effort and commitment to good cultivation and benefit practices , they want to show the outstanding attributes in their coffee.
Additionally, some private efforts are being made, such as the contest that will be held in the Viboral village of Aguadas, organized by the Nutrimón fertilization company and where the protagonists will be the women coffee growers.
The 18th departmental contest, Caldas high-quality coffees, is also enlisted, which will be awarded in 2022.
In all regions
According to the Caldas Coffee Growers Committee, to date there are already municipalities that even prepare their second, third and even fourth day, which shows the interest and desire to produce increasingly with higher quality.
Marco Tulio Hoyos, director of the Caldas Committee, stressed that this has been the result of programs such as “More agronomy, more productivity and more quality”, which was encouraged in the Coffee Congress, to stimulate growers to be more competitive and work your farm as a company, with quality coffees.
The prizes in each of the municipalities range between $ 6 million and up to $ 18 million, as in the case of Manizales, among inputs, accumulated incentives.
After the competitions, the fairs are strengthened with national and external business rounds and auctions, which allow options to sell their high-quality coffees. “That surcharge that is paid for said coffee is received directly by the producer, which is a great encouragement for his farm and his family,” he stressed.
The 25 municipalities
The director highlighted the jury evaluation and standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, to give greater transparency to the competition.
The departmental competition has been going forward for 18 years, and the regional ones for four. The goal of the Committee is that by 2022 the 25 coffee municipalities of Caldas hold local coffee contests.
* With information from the correspondents of Neira and Aguadas, Jorge Iván Castaño and Carlos Mario Ríos.
First contests and registrations
* Belalcázar. From September 3 to October 30.
* Villamaría. September 10 to October 23.
* The mercy. September 10 to October 30.
* Marulanda. September 3 to October 30.
* Palestine. September 3 to October 9.
* Samaná. September 3 to October 30.
* Saint Joseph. September 10 to November 6.
* Neira. September 10 to October 30.
Second edition
* Manizales. Until September 30.
* Manzanares. September 10 to October 30.
* Salamis. September 10 to October 30.
* Viterbo. August 28 to October 30.
Third edition
* Pennsylvania. September 3 to October 23.
Fourth edition
Marquetalia. September 3 to November 5.
High scores
In the past 17th Caldas High Quality Coffee Contest, it was evidenced that high quality coffee is produced in all regions of the department. Supía, Anserma and Risaralda obtained outstanding scores between 87.55 points and 88.62 points on the scale of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). At the same time, the different regions stood out, since in 24 municipalities they were in the different selection stages and 12 reached the final.
The contest was organized by the Caldas Coffee Growers Committee, the Aguadas, Anserma, Alto Occidente, Manizales and Norte de Caldas Coffee Growers Cooperatives, with the support of Trillacoop, Almacafé and Expocafé.
– .
